


Tattoo

by AllHaleOlicity



Series: Untold Stories: Next Gen [12]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 02:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20667860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllHaleOlicity/pseuds/AllHaleOlicity
Summary: TWO FICS IN ONE DAY? WHO IS SHE?





	Tattoo

Since being tasked as Christine's partner, Aidan has been invited to dinner multiple times in the last month. This is partly because Dinah wants the two of them to get along better since their arguing is effecting their work, and mostly because Tommy and Bex -And the rest of Christine's family- are very protective and want to make sure that this "Detective" is legit and not just playing her.

He is legit, Dinah would not just assign someone random to watch over Chris while out on the field. Not to mention that Aidan has had dinner with their family a few times before he was Christine's partner because Dinah likes to bring the force together so everyone can bond. But she understands their concerns nonetheless. They know him as someone who works for Dinah and not as someone who is making sure Chris doesn't get hurt.

Every family dinner is the same when Aidan is invited. He comes in, dressed in what seems to be his casual wear which is a suit and tie like always, he greets everyone with a smile, gives Richie a fist bump as he follows the adults into the living room, and they talk. Chris is forced to sit in there with them even though it's mostly just boring adult things that they talk about because he's her partner and the only reason that he's there is so they can become friends.

Little does everyone know, they have bonded. Maybe not in the way anyone would expect when they look at Chris. But they have bonded. They still don't get along as well as Dinah would hope, but they don't argue nearly as much when they're on a case. Her parents think it's because of these dinners when really it's the private dinners that they have at Christine's house or the steak out that ended in the back of a Cadillac that one time... She's just grateful that the windows are tented.

After about 20 minutes of boring adult talk everyone moves to the dining room. Not that they ever use it when they don't have guests over, usually everyone just piles into the living room and they watch Jeopardy. But not tonight, sorry Teen Champions, Chris has to suffer through another family dinner with her stuck up partner.

The table is big enough for about 15 people, which is usually how many are actually here when they use it. But tonight, it's just the 6 of them. Dinah and Tommy sitting together on the end, Richie sitting next to Dinah, across from him was Bex who was sitting next to Aidan, and across from Aidan was Chris. Plates of food, different drinks, and seasonings/spices all spread around the small square that the 6 of them have made in the corner of the table.

The boring adult conversations continued throughout dinner, Chris was never sure why she didn't get into them. She was an adult, she should be included in the conversations but it made her feel better that Bex was also avoiding the boring talk. Richie was just happy to have chicken for dinner.

"Do you watch sports?" Tommy asked, changing the subject from whatever they were talking about before, Chris doesn't remember. She tunes in and out of the conversations while just trying to make it through dinner without catching any sly looks from Aidan.

Aidan thought about what he asked for a second and then shook his head. "Too much going on for that."

Tommy nodded slowly, he watched Aidan closely. Chris knows it's only because he's protective, he's probably taken a few tips from Uncle Ollie since the last time Aidan came to dinner.

Bex looked between the two of them and shrugged. "Can you pass the salt?" she asked, looking at Aidan.

He nodded, looking around the table for a second before Chris held it up and tried to pass it to her sister. Since the distance between them was still a few inches even when Chris stood up and leaned over the table, Aidan leaned up and took the salt and handed it to Bex. Chris sat back down and glared at Aidan for a split second, long enough for him to notice but fast enough so that her mom didn't catch it. His response was a wink which only made her more frustrated.

When she finally looked away, she noticed Bex was looking at her like she knew everything that was going on in her head. They are really close, but they don't exactly have mind reading down, so the look Chris was receiving from her sister was slightly scary.

Bex had a small smirk on her face and a brow raised, she exchanged the look for a friendlier one when she looked back at Aidan. "Why do you always wear suits?"

"What?" He looked away from Chris and over to Bex at his side.

"You've come over to dinner a few times, you are always in a suit." Bex looked at his outfit to confirm then back up at his face. "Why?"

"It's what I own."

"You don't own any other clothes?"

"Rebecca." Tommy nudged her with his elbow.

Aidan shook his head, trying to keep his laughter to a minimum. He looked over to Dinah and Tommy. "She really is Christine's sister, isn't she?"

Bex ignored the comment and continued to push forward. "Do you own a t-shirt? We aren't a formal family."

"It's just what I wear. I own shirts but I like to look presentable in case anything were to come up."

"Do you sleep in a suit?"

"Bex." Chris warned, getting a glare from her sister.

She threw her hands up in surrender and for a second, Chris thought that was the end of it. Until she started again.

"What's your tattoo mean?" She asked, getting glares from her sister and both of her parents, along with a confused look from Aidan, since Aidan was the only one she cared about at this moment she decided to clarify. "When you reached for the salt your sleeve came up a little bit. I have an infinity on my wrist." She lifted her arm to show him. "It's something me and my dad have always said. He'd leave for work for a few days, we'd say goodbye, love you infinity, it's sappy but I love it." She put her arm back down. "What's yours mean?"

Aidan looked over at Chris who was just trying to hide her face by looking at her plate of almost finished food. He shrugged then looked back at Bex. "It's...for my brother." He said, almost confident enough for them to believe him but Bex was stubborn and wanted more information, he expected as much. "You and your sister are close, I'm close with my brother. He lives in Washington, been through a lot."

"Beck, can you help me get some more rolls for the table?" Chris asked, standing up from her chair.

"I can help." Aidan said, already standing.

"No!"

Aidan froze in his position, confused.

"I need my sister's help."

Aidan sat back down as Bex stood up and followed Chris into the kitchen. When they entered the kitchen, Chris made sure that the swinging doors were shut so that they had extra privacy.

Bex picked up a bread roll and leaned against the island. "At least I know who was cooking for you the other night." She said as she ripped a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth.

"Don't tell Mom and Dad." She said in a slight whisper, walking closer to her sister.

"Are you not allowed to have dinner with your partner? Tonya and I do it all the time."

Chris made a face that looked a lot like when a 4 year old gets in trouble for eating a cookie before dinner.

Bex raised an eyebrow. "Unless something else is happening..."

Chris quickly picked herself back up. "There's not. You're right, it was just dinner."

"Then why didn't you just say that?"

"Because...Peter and I broke up. And I wanted to make him jealous."

"You could have told me when you saw me yesterday instead of letting me take guesses for an hour."

Chris sighed, leaning against the counter across from Bex. "It's complicated, okay? There's been a lot happening since I got promoted and I should be happy and I am, but everything is changing so fast I can't keep up."

Bex sat the bread roll down and crossed her arms. "You know you can talk to me anytime, right? I'm not going anywhere."

"You have your own things going on. Mine are minor. I'm freaking out because you know that I had dinner with my partner the other night. Meanwhile, you are juggling like 5 different lives."

Bex watched her sister closely as she rambled on. "Do you like him?" She asked, causing Chris to freeze. Bex nodded. "Okay...Is he nice to you?"

"Most of the time." She mumbled, swinging her leg to keep her focused on anything but her sister. "Mostly when we're not around other people. But I think that's more stubbornness than anything else."

"It doesn't matter what Mom and Dad think, Chrissy." Bex stood up straight and put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "If you like him that's your business. And if you do care that much, Mom can't think badly of him. She keeps inviting him to our house and she assigned him to you."

Chris moved away from Bex. "It's more than that, though." She walked over to where Bex was standing a few seconds before and took her place. "There's a lot that he's not telling me."

"You're just getting to know each other, give it time."

"We've been sleeping together for 2 weeks." She blurted without thinking, realizing that it came out a lot louder than she wanted it to.

Bex's face dropped, mostly in shock but partly in pride. "Damn, you go sis." She gently punched Chris's shoulder. She saw that Chris wasn't as enthusiastic about it so she crossed her arms again and regained her maturity. "Friends with benefits aren't exclusive. If you want him to open up and you want to start something real with him, you have to cut those lines."

Chris frowned. "I like those lines."

Bex let out a small laugh. She never imagined her little baby sunshine of a sister would be in a situation like this, but she could not be any more proud of her for how she's handling it.

"What if he has a bad past? Like he's murdered 4 guys or something?"

"Our family has collectively hurt a lot of people. I think as long as he had a good reason it'll be fine." She paused. "And as long as he doesn't lie constantly. The story about his tattoo was bullshit."

"He has a brother in Washington."

"Maybe."

Chris lightly kicked her sister. "Come on, if we stay in here any longer we're gonna get caught." She grabbed the bowl of bread rolls and started walking back towards the dining room.

"Wait!" Bex caught her arm before she left. "Have you done it in the interrogation room?"

Chris gasped. "No!" She gave her sister a horrified look that faded within a second. "Try to avoid getting arrested by him, though." She mumbled before walking into the dining room.


End file.
